Sherm Scores Season-High 31 PTS, Hornets Venom GT Settles for 1-1 Split vs. Mavs Gaming

PeteBeBallin Also Double-Doubles Twice Against Former Team; Dallas Pulls Out Late Game 2 Win

By Sam Perley

An offense that continued humming along through Hornets Venom GT’s opening outing on Wednesday night hit a brick wall in the team’s subsequent contest, leading to a 1-1 series split at home against Mavs Gaming.

Tied 18-18 after the opening frame in Game 1, Charlotte opened the second quarter on an 8-0 run and cruised into halftime ahead 41-33. The squad led comfortably by double digits throughout the second half and although Dallas rallied to get within seven by the 3:41 mark of the fourth, Hornets Venom closed the door on a comeback win thanks to a game-ending 14-3 run.

Both guard Justin “Sherm” Sherman (team season-high 31 points and 11 assists) and center Peter “PeteBeBallin” Malin (18 points and 11 rebounds) double-doubled against their former team in the 80-62 victory. Two-guard Wesley “GEN” McNair led Mavs Gaming with 19 points in the loss and ex-Hornets Venom power forward Zaeya “Zae” Ishak added 18 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

Blessing your Friday timelines with some @BiggWest_ gameday energy! 🔋🔋🔋 pic.twitter.com/ksv3kzGs7w

— Hornets Venom GT (@HornetsVenomGT) June 11, 2021

Game 2 was a much more tightly contested affair with Hornets Venom clinging to a 52-51 lead and about 90 seconds remaining on the game clock. Charlotte would force a Dallas turnover, then gave it right back on a backcourt violation, leading to a go-ahead three-pointer by guard Artreyo “Dimez” Boyd. Following an empty Hornets Venom possession, a Dimez dunk made it a two-score game as Dallas pulled away for the eventual 63-55 triumph.

AND ANOTHER!

SHOT 🚨 CLOCK 🚨 VIOLATION 🚨 pic.twitter.com/0HC06Ujig0

— Hornets Venom GT (@HornetsVenomGT) June 10, 2021

PeteBeBallin double-doubled again with 16 points and 12 rebounds, while guards CJ “rigby” Burnett (14 points) and Sherm (12 points and nine assists) also scored in double figures. Dimez finished off Mavs Gaming’s first win of the regular season with 31 points and eight assists, Zae had 11 points and center Jerry “SickOne” Knapp added nine points and 21 rebounds (seven offensive).

The hosts shot 63% and 57% from three (13-of-23) in Game 1, clips that dipped down to 49% and 40% (8-of-20), respectively, in the ensuing defeat. Mavs Gaming also cleaned up on the glass in Game 2 by outrebounding Charlotte, 29-17 (11 offensive boards) after losing this category by eight in the opener (25-17).

Hornets Venom GT will now close out the week with a pair of road games on Friday, June 11 against the Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai beginning at 7 PM EST. Catch all the action on the NBA 2K League’s Twitch and/or YouTube channels.